First attempt at lighting a car

ralphhardwick

ralphhardwick

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Ralph
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Evening all

This is my first post for a long time so please be gentle with me.

I am hoping to develop my skills in automotive photography and I have just acquired 3 Godox RS600Ps which are 600W portable battery studio lights. One of the photographers I look to for inspiration in this field is Tim Wallace and I have studied his methods and last night I've had the first opportunity to try what I've learned. I still have a lot more to learn and have a lot of practicing to do but I thought I'd share this first attempt.

My key aim on this first attempt was to manage the lighting, without hotspots or annoying reflections.

The subject is my wife's Freelander 2 and this was all done on our drive in a stiff breeze.

I used a basic 3 light setup. The first light is mounted high (about 7ft) to the left of picture and towards the rear of the car. Normally this should be fitted with a 1ft x 5ft strip softbox but, because of the wind I just used a standard reflector. This was set on 1/2 power.



The next light was placed to camera right, set on full power and fitted with a micansu 1ft x 5ft strip softbox without the front diffuser. The softbox was angled at roughly 45 degrees to light the bonnet, bumper and under sill.



Finally a third light, at half power was fitted with a snoot and mounted low down to camera left and aimed at the front wheel to highlight the rim and the front corner.



The final image was imported in LR5 and then edited in PSCC. With tweaks to clarity, shadows, highlights and then some cloning and and background removal etc. etc.



Now I know my Photoshop skills need a bit more honing but overall I don't think it's too bad for a first time.

Just to complete the set I placed one of the lights, on 1/32 power, on the rear seat bounced of the headlining to capture the interior.



I know there's plenty to critique but I thought I'd share this for your information and entertainment :D I am open to any critique so please be honest as I do want to improve
 
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Like those. The finished image has overtones of Tim, but is missing location, although speaking to him earlier this year he does composite so slip that into a stunning location...
 
I think it's very good for a first go at this style. A dark car is always going to be harder than a brighter one.
 
Well I'm impressed!

I've been looking at lighting when reading a photography mag this week. It's not something I've dabbled in yet and have no kit to do so, but you're encouraging me to get involved!

The interior shot is really good and I'm grateful to you for showing the results of the different lights and angles in the exterior shots. It's good to see the effects of changes without having the ability to play myself.

Kirkynut
 
I love those pics ;)

I've wanted to learn how to do this and your photos are inspirational.

Can I ask what the exposure time and f number were?
 
Thanks very much for all your comments you've made me feel a lot better about my results. I still have a lot of practicing to do but now I feel I'm heading in the right direction :)

Gsrai they were all taken at f8 and a max sync speed of 1/160, ISO 100 with a Pentax K3 and Pentax DA* 16-50.
 
Great pictures and like others have said the interior one is superb and I would have to say being an ex car sales manager is of brochure quality.
 
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